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The pharmacy regulator has launched a consultation on standards for Responsible Pharmacists (RPs) and superintendent pharmacists (SPs), which will support legislation coming into effect in 2026.
In its consultation, published on 17 December 2025, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has laid out the standards and rules that RPs and SPs must meet, as well as standards pharmacists must meet if they decide to authorise pharmacy technicians to carry out certain tasks.
It also sets out the accountabilities and responsibilities of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians if authorisation and/or supervision takes place.
Earlier in December 2025, the government approved new legislation that will allow pharmacists to authorise any member of the pharmacy team to hand out prescriptions that have already been checked and bagged, even if the pharmacist is not present, and to authorise registered pharmacy technicians to prepare, assemble, dispense, sell, or supply medicines or supervise others doing these tasks.
Pharmacists will be able to authorise any pharmacy team member to hand out checked and bagged prescriptions from 7 January 2026, while the remaining provisions will come into effect on 10 December 2026.
The GPhC consultation has asked whether it should continue with its “one pharmacy” rule that allows RPs to only be responsible for one pharmacy at any one time, as well as whether the rule that allows a pharmacy to be without a registered pharmacist for up to two hours per day should be continued.
It has also asked whether the GPhC should set minimum requirements for a pharmacist to become an RP, and whether there should be additional minimum requirements for an SP, along with whether there will be any impact on patient safety and protected characteristics from the new legislation.
The GPhC said its new regulatory standards “will strengthen pharmacy governance and support the implementation of the new legislation”.
Lynsey Cleland, chief standards officer at the GPhC, said: “Following the introduction of this new legislation, we are working to strengthen pharmacy governance, with a focus on ensuring patients and the public continue to receive safe and effective pharmacy care.
“We are doing this by drafting new rules and standards in order to provide clarity around how pharmacies are organised and managed.
“The consultation asks a wide range of questions around the roles and responsibilities within a pharmacy, as well as the safe and effective running of a pharmacy business.
Cleland encouraged “anyone with an interest in pharmacy services, whether an individual or an organisation,” to take part in the consultation, which runs until 25 March 2026.
